Lie For Me
by lovecassia
Summary: During a fit of jealousy while having girl's night in her dorm, she tells her friends that she's dating Bakugou. To make matters worse, she had never even thought of him romantically. But instead of coming clean, she decides to ask Bakugou for help. Uraraka doesn't normally lie. But when she does, she goes all out.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a concept I have been trying _very_ hard for a pretty decent amount of time to ignore. It doesn't scream Uraraka like I want it to. But good god, it won't leave me alone. So. Here I am. In all of my I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this glory. Damn it. I hope someone enjoys this, at least, since my brain is so dead set on having me write it. *insert sigh here* That said, I do have a bunch of cute ideas for later chapters. And I think maybe this turned out so...weird for me because there's just so much it had to touch on from the gate? Not really sure. Let me know what you guys think!

* * *

 **Chapter One**

It really hadn't been her intention to lie to her friends. It honestly hadn't. But the conversation had taken a turn she wasn't ready for and she had just…panicked.

Oh, man, she had really panicked.

Uraraka chewed on her lip and pushed her fingers together as they stared at her in shock. Her entire face felt like it was burning. This isn't how this was supposed to happen. Even if she had actually wanted to lie, why did she have to say _that_? And why had that been the lie she had went with, anyways? There were so many issues with it; there was no way that the other girls were ever going to believe it. Honestly, how could they? Nothing about what she had just said made any sense.

She looked down at her fingers as she pushed them together, bouncing between too much pressure and not enough. Apprehension was settling deep in her bones. There wasn't any way to play this off without a bunch of embarrassment. If she had taken two seconds to think about what she was saying before she said it, it would've never even come up.

"I mean…I guess it makes sense." Yaomomo was the first to break the silence. She spoke slowly, as if considering her words even as she said them. "He's, uh, not as…angry around you."

Slowly, the other girls in her dorm room started voicing their agreement. Uraraka could feel the tension in her shoulders dissipate as she exhaled. Had she even been breathing?

Ashido launched herself from the floor, capturing Uraraka in a hug as she squealed. "It's super weird but still cute!"

Uraraka laughed nervously at the comment. She tucked some hair behind her ear as Ashido let go but scooted close to Uraraka's feet, which were hanging off the bed. She stared up at Uraraka expectantly, waiting for more details.

Uraraka sighed. It was weird because it was a lie. But she couldn't say that. The grave digging already started; may as well make it a roomy grave.

"It was weird for me too." She pressed her lips together before smiling. "But he's actually really sweet."

"He is?!" Hagakure's squeal matched Ashido's as she crawled closer. "Does he call you pet names? Does he hold your hand? Are his kisses sweet?"

The heat in her cheeks reignited as she looked back to the girls all waiting for her answers. They were all paying such close attention to her, she was sure that any single detail that didn't make sense in any way would immediately be dissected. She had to make this make sense. She looked back down at her hands and began twiddling her thumbs.

She didn't even know how to answer. It had been a lie. A lie she didn't even know was coming off her lips until it was already hanging in the air. She hadn't thought up specifics like that. She bit her lip before looking up at them and smiling.

"We, uh, we met up during the winter break from school." Her heart stuttered as she tried to find words. She took a small, shaky breath before continuing. "I saw him at a café, eating alone. So, I sat down and started talking to him. He, uh…he originally told me to 'go the eff away' but I just wanted to talk to him since no one ever really does."

"So you initiated it?" Hagakure gasped. With how her clothes moved, it looked like her hands were covering her mouth. Which would make sense.

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head, trying her hardest to keep her hands busy. "Ha, I guess so."

Jirou rubbed her temples as she leaned back into the wall. "I never saw this coming. I wonder why Denki never mentioned it."

Uraraka felt her body go rigid as the other girls nodded and looked towards her. That's right. Jirou started dating Kaminari during their second year. He would've said something to her about this if it wasn't a big, fat, fabricated lie. A lie she hadn't even planned. She really wished she didn't just blurt things out sometimes.

"He's…um…." She paused, frowning. "He's not really an open person. He probably didn't see much of a point in telling him."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tsu cock her head to the side but stay silent. She hadn't said a word the entire time. It was probably for the best though. She could probably see right through her. Tsu knew her better than anyone. Everyone else seemed to accept the explanation though. It did match his personality to be like that, after all.

"Well. I'm going to bed." Jirou announced after the silence stretched for almost a minute. "It's getting late and I'm going to have to deal with Denki tomorrow after I tell him this."

Uraraka giggled, but it was more out of nervousness than anything. What was she going to do when it was brought up? She really had made a huge mistake.

"It's going to be weird for a bunch of people, I think." She mumbled, biting her lip.

Especially him.

"Ah, I'm so excited!" Ashido grinned, wrapping her arm around Hagakure's shoulder and pulling her from the room. "Thanks for having girl's night in your room, Ochako!"

Everyone seemed to follow them, leaving the room almost at the same time. Uraraka stayed planted in her spot at the edge of her bed. Tsu didn't move from the computer chair, either. Once the others left, Tsu walked over and sat next to Uraraka. She cocked her head to the side as she studied the brunette.

"Are you really dating him?" She questioned.

Uraraka bit her lip, her heart was racing. It felt like Tsu's eyes were going to burn holes into her. She needed to say yes. What was the point in lying if she told someone the truth? But she didn't want to lie to Tsu. She didn't want to lie to her best friend.

Tsu reached over, placing her hand on Uraraka's knee. "Or did you say you were because they were talking about how close Midoriya has been getting to Hatsume?"

The brunette froze and her chest began to ache. It hurt so much it took her breath away when she thought of Deku and Mei. At first, it had seemed like Deku had thought that Mei was overbearing and only talked to her about support items for his hero outfit. But they had gotten so much closer the longer they were at UA. Mei was always so handsy when it came to Deku. She was always touching him. Watching Mei run her hands up his arms, seeing his face turn red as he bit his lip and watched her do it, hearing her say that she couldn't wait to "make babies" for him. It hurt. It was all she could do to not scream any time she saw it happen. Even knowing that she meant support items, it still stung every time. Especially since, here lately, he was going to the support department for such minor issues and even talking to Mei a lot outside of school.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she gave a small, hurt smile to her friend. "It was a lie. It was a lie but I didn't mean to say it but once I did I just…I just couldn't take it back."

Tsu placed a finger to her own mouth as she thought about it. It went quiet as she mulled over the information. The tears in Uraraka's eyes threatened to spill over with every passing second. Her heart slammed against her chest.

"I think you shouldn't lie to our friends." Tsu concluded after a moment. "But, if you plan to go through with this, you have to tell him."

Uraraka nodded then looked down at her hands. "I know. But I don't know how. He's so…so prickly. He'll be so mad. He'll never go for it."

"That's why I'm confused." Tsu muttered, but it sounded like she knew exactly why.

It went quiet again. Uraraka didn't want to answer the question that Tsu was implying. Her heartbeat got quicker, and she had to force herself to breathe. She wasn't sure if her body was reacting to the embarrassment, if she was still hanging onto the thought of Deku and Mei being together, or the anger of putting herself in this situation. Her face was hot, too. It felt like a fire was burning at her cheeks. She just wanted to throw her face into her pillow and scream.

Tsu reached up, pulling Uraraka's chin up and forcing the brunette to look at her. "Why Bakugou?"

A single tear made its way from her eye, trailing down her cheek and hanging onto her chin. She knew why she had said Bakugou. There had been so many options. She could've said any of the guys in class, she could have made someone up. Either of those options would have been so much easier, and she knew that.

But was she really that despicable?

Did she really want to try to hurt Deku by claiming she was dating his childhood friend?

Tsu wrapped her arms around Uraraka, pulling her into a hug. The tears that had been holding their place in her eyes spilled over, her chest shook as she sobbed into Tsu's shoulder. Tsu used her free hand to pat Uraraka's head as Uraraka clung to her. Tsu was smart. She knew Uraraka better than anyone. She had seen how she had struggled with her feelings for Deku. She probably knew what was going on before it even happened. Chances are, she just wanted Uraraka to know why she was doing it. But knowing why made it hurt worse. It made her chest feel empty, and the tears made her eyes burn.

"Am I a bad person?" She whimpered.

Tsu shook her head and pulled Uraraka closer. "No. Just human."

Silence filled the room. That answer didn't make her feel any better, but it didn't make her feel worse either. The only thing she knew now was that now that she had told all the girls she was dating Bakugou, she had to make sure that he knew.

She had to make sure he wouldn't expose her as a liar.

* * *

All morning, Uraraka was trying to figure out how to talk to Bakugou without seeming suspicious. She hadn't found a way to stop him before class, and during class they didn't sit anywhere near each other. She sighed into her hands. Why did she do this to herself?

Aizawa grumbled about needing more copies of the assignment he was going to hand out before looking across the classroom.

"Bakugou. Go make copies." He paused as he looked at the blonde, contemplating on his choice. "And someone go with him to make sure nothing gets blown up."

Uraraka felt her heart skip a beat. This was her chance to have a moment alone with Bakugou, to tell him what was going on. She jumped up and sauntered towards the blonde who had been glaring at everyone, annoyed that he even had to go.

"I'll go with you." She smiled up at him.

He raised a brow at her, then turned and walked towards the door. Their walk to the copy room was quiet. Her mouth suddenly felt so dry. She couldn't find the words to bring it up. It didn't get any better while the copies were running through the machine. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She watched the copies get spit into the holding tray one by one, wishing she could talk as easily as the papers printed off.

For a lie that rolled off her lips so smoothly, this was really hard.

"Spit it the fuck out, Cheeks." Bakugou grumbled.

She blinked as she looked at him. He had turned towards her at some point and was leaned up against the copy machine. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face was somewhere between a scowl and…maybe curiosity?

If only she could be so lucky.

"I, uh, w-what…" She cleared her throat. "What do you mean?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "You've been frowning at the fucking copier like it killed your folks. Why."

It wasn't a question, but a demand. She swallowed hard, her heart had turned into a caged animal trying to rip out of its cage. She bit her lip as she studied his face. Crimson eyes were staring at her, his expression was more-or-less flat. He would never accept what she was about to tell him.

"I lied to my friends." She started confidently but paused.

He scoffed, turning to pick up the copied papers. "Never mind."

She frowned. He would never accept what she was about to tell him, but her daddy didn't raise her to give up without a fight. She grabbed his arm, turning him back towards her.

"Wait." She breathed, locking her eyes on his.

He looked back at her, raising his brow. She let go and stood up straight, clearing her throat again. He didn't move, indicating he was listening. Thank God he was giving her another chance to talk…now if only she could say this in a way that would keep him from losing his temper.

"I lied to my friends. About you."

His lips pressed into a straight line as he leaned back against the copier, folding his arms over his chest again. She could see the frustration flickering behind his eyes as the crimson orbs burned holes into her own.

"Go on." His voice was so sharp she flinched.

She took a shaky breath. "Last night was girls night and, uh, they started talking about Deku and, uh…and Mei." She paused, looking to the ground as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"What the fuck does that have to do with me." Another non-question.

"I, uh, I said that we started d-dating over the winter break."

Silence.

"We…meaning me and you." She clarified, wondering if that was the reason he hadn't responded.

More silence.

She could only imagine the nasty look on his face, she could already hear the crackles of his quirk in her mind. The idea of him attacking her without her being prepared caused her to look up.

He didn't look angry, so that was a plus. His brows were knitted together as he stared at her, but he didn't seem to register that she was looking back at him. She could only imagine that this was what confusion looked like on him, other than his usual outburst of anger when he didn't know what to feel. Finally, his face morphed into a frown as he looked her in the eyes, but it didn't carry its usual ferocity.

"Explain."

Her brows furrowed. She had just dropped this bomb onto him and all he did was give one-worded responses like it wasn't a big deal. Like he was only inconvenienced, like she was dirt beneath his shoes for having done this to him. He was the last person she should've said. But that's ignoring the fact she shouldn't have even lied about this in the first place.

"Well," She started but then gave a half-hearted laugh. "it's actually embarrassing."

He stared at her in response. She sighed, clearing her throat again. Why did it feel like there was something in her throat today?

"I like Deku –"

"No shit." He interrupted.

She glared at him, then looked away when he met her gaze with just as much confidence. "I like Deku and they were talking about him being with Mei. I know he's not really with her, but it still hurts because he talks about her so much and wants her to be his main support when he becomes a pro. He is with her so much, and she is always his main focus when she's around. So, I…I…."

She trailed off, looking towards her hands as she started pressing her fingers together. "I thought…I wanted to change the subject. And I just kind of…blurted out that we were dating."

She finally looked back up at him. He was frowning, but he didn't say anything as he processed her words. After what felt like ages, he met her eyes with a raised brow.

"Why me?"

Her breath caught in her throat. That one wasn't a demand; that was a question. The difference was so small, but it still caught her off guard. He was softer, and that was something she really wasn't prepared for right now. She wondered if he even realized the change in his own tone.

"Because…" She bit her lip, frowning at herself, still upset by her reason. "Because I figured if it was you, it would hurt him like him being around Mei hurts me."

Bakugou scoffed, turning to grab the papers out of the tray. Uraraka felt her heart stop as she watched him start walking towards the door. She should've known that he wasn't going to go along with it. She really couldn't blame him. He probably didn't even think it was worth his time, and the embarrassment she would have to go through wasn't his problem to deal with. Of course he didn't want to go along with it.

She hung her head as she followed him, staying a few steps behind. She was going to have to come up with a way to tell the other girls. It would be horrible, but she couldn't keep lying to them. Especially if the one person she needed to make the lie work didn't want to be involved.

Why did she even say it? She didn't actually want Deku to hurt, did she? It's more like she just…wanted to not hurt as much. And since Bakugou was the complete opposite of Deku, he was the first person that came to mind. Right? To not hurt, find the things that aren't like the thing that's hurting you. That's a thing, isn't it?

She ran straight into Bakugou's back. Her brows knitted together as she stepped backwards and rubbed at her nose.

"Sorry." She mumbled, then blinked when she realized he wasn't walking into the classroom. "Why'd you stop?"

He turned towards her, a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. He looked, maybe, frustrated but amused while also conflicted? Not that any of that made sense when phrased together. He was so hard to read when he wasn't just using anger as an outlet.

He glanced around the hallway before pushing her back towards the wall. He looked down at her, his crimson eyes flicking back and forth between her eyes as he studied her.

"B-Bakugou..?"

She really wished she had a quirk that let her disappear into this wall. Why was he staring at her so intensely? Was he mad at her? Why did he have her pinned up against the wall?

"You're doing this to hurt Deku."

She frowned; he was back to making statements instead of asking questions. "Yeah. I think."

"You think."

She nodded, trying to look away from him. He grabbed her face and forced her eyes to meet his. He stared at her for a second before letting her go. She immediately looked away. A sigh escaped his lips, but he didn't move.

"If this is only to get under that fucker's skin, I'll do it."

Everything stopped around her as she looked back up at him. He was staring at her with that same unreadable look. Then he grinned; the same grin he gets when he's in the middle of a fight and is way too confident in himself.

"I never took you as someone who was spiteful, Cheeks."

She licked her lips and pressed them together as she studied his expression. After a few seconds of eye contact, she looked away. She could feel her cheeks heating up again.

"I'm not really proud of it." She countered quietly, chewing her bottom lip.

Bakugou shrugged as he backed away from her. "Doesn't matter to me. We'll talk more later."

As he walked into the classroom, she swallowed hard. She hadn't expected him to not get angry. She really hadn't expected him to agree to it. Shouldn't those have been the two biggest hurdles? Why was her stomach tying itself in knots when he agreed to this? She bit her lip and followed him back into the classroom.

All she could do now is hope that this didn't completely blow up in her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you guys for the positive feedback! I wasn't expecting so many people to like the idea, but it has me super stoked. I think this chapter kind of pulls their characters into line a little bit more, even though Uraraka is still a bit out of character. I really hope I'm not totally ruining what makes her _her_. But setting up the details for this story is so fun, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well!

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

Sitting in class after talking to Bakugou had been torture. Uraraka had been trying to pay attention, but her eyes kept finding their way to the blonde on the other side of the room. It actually wasn't that weird that he had agreed to the entire thing. He had never really gotten over his rivalry with Deku. It would usually show itself in smaller ways now that they were older, though. If Deku ate two helpings of food, Bakugou ate three. If Deku finished his assignments in two hours, Bakugou finished his in one. If Deku landed three punches during a training exercise, Bakugou landed four.

Or he tried to incinerate everything. Whichever came first.

The issue wasn't with the fact he had agreed, but the fact that Uraraka was fairly sure Bakugou just didn't _do_ romance. Since they had started UA, he had turned down countless girls. Plenty of guys, too. It didn't matter how attractive or talented they were; Bakugou just wasn't interested. He spent his time focused on getting stronger, becoming number one.

Did he even know how to act like a – her face burned as the word 'boyfriend' flashed through her mind. She quietly cleared her throat and looked at her desk as if everyone could hear her thoughts.

Did he even know how to act the part?

She hadn't even considered that when she had claimed they were dating. Well, to be fair, she hadn't done much thinking when that word-vomit had happened. None of this was really planned.

Speaking of plans, they really needed to come up with one. He had no idea what she had told the other girls other than they had started dating during the break. It also didn't help that their personalities were total opposites. He was as stubborn as an ox, indifferent to just about everything, loud, foul-mouthed, and generally a sour-puss. Other than the fact that both of them were super competitive, they didn't share any qualities.

A frown etched itself onto her face as she looked back across the room at Bakugou. She had been worried about him acting the part, but could she? It was no secret that he was attractive – that anger did him a lot of good when he focused it into his training – but his personality left a lot to be desired. Like everyone else, she had become accustomed to his behavior not long after they started at UA. But to act like she had actually fallen for his drastic changes between 'brick wall that grunts at you occasionally' and 'everyone must die' would be a total lie.

Uraraka giggled but quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She glanced around her to make sure no one had heard her before smiling to herself again. The relationship itself was a lie, so did it really matter if liking his personality was a lie, too?

It wasn't until everyone started standing and chatting that she realized it was time for lunch. She shook the thoughts from her head; it would have to wait until they were able to get together and talk.

"Iida, let's go grab Deku and get some food!" She grinned, walking away before the class representative could even respond.

Deku was still putting his stuff away when she made it to his desk. Iida was behind her reprimanding Kaminari and Kirishima for something, but she wasn't sure what. Her focus was the on the freckled boy in front of her. When he finally looked up at her, she grinned.

"Ready for lunch, Deku?" She was basically singing the words. "I saw on the menu yesterday that they were serving mochi with lunch today!"

He beamed back at her. "Really? I hope it's good!"

Uraraka feigned shock, covering her mouth. "You've never had their mochi? It's almost as good as the one's that they sell at Sweet Beans!"

Izuku laughed like he always did when she got excited about desserts. It was a laugh that came from deep in his chest and made his eyes light up. It never failed to make her melt.

This one was short-lived, though. His brows furrowed, and his mouth opened to say something. Before he could utter a word and before she could ask what was wrong, an arm was around her shoulders. She inhaled sharply as she glanced up at the owner, already knowing who it was.

Her eyes met crimson as Bakugou pulled her into his chest. "You're eating lunch with me, Angel Face."

Uraraka wasn't sure if the classroom had suddenly gotten very quiet or if her heartbeat had just gotten that loud. She chewed on her bottom lip and pressed her fingers together as she glanced away from his gaze before meeting his eyes again. Why did he have to look so intense? Why was he doing this so soon? They hadn't even talked yet.

"I, uh…t-today?" She was fumbling hard over her words.

Bakugou raised a brow at her. "Why not? Your shitty friends know now so why the fuck does it matter?"

She frowned lightly at how he worded it, but after a second, she nodded. "Okay."

When she looked back towards Deku, his mouth was pressed into a hard line as his eyes flickered between her and Bakugou. Her heart stuttered at the look in his eyes. It reminded her of how puppies look when they're not sure if they're being punished when someone raises their voice. She wanted nothing more than to reach over and hug him, tell him that this wasn't about him.

But it was about him, wasn't it?

So, instead, she smiled at him as brightly as she could. "Ah, sorry, Deku. Looks like I'm eating with Bakugou today."

Bakugou turned, leading her out of the room. The moment they entered the hallway, chaos broke out in the classroom behind them. Kaminari's voice shrieked 'I thought you were lying!' at the same time Kirishima exclaimed 'dude, no way!', Ashido and Hagakure squealed in unison, and everyone else broke out into eager chatter. She started to look back when Bakugou mumbled 'don't' and pulled her closer into his side. It took more willpower than she thought she had, but she kept her eyes forward.

Would it be like this every time they acted like a couple?

After they rounded the corner and were out of eyesight, Bakugou's arm dropped from her shoulders. She shivered at the sudden draft across her neck, she laced her fingers together behind her back as she glanced up at Bakugou. He was looking straight ahead, the same bored look on his face as always.

"You have better acting skills than I thought." Her voice was quiet, almost shy.

Bakugou glanced down at her before he made a 'tch' noise, something she had once said sounded like when someone strikes a match to light it. The thought caused her to giggle.

"Don't let it go to your head, though." The words left her mouth before she knew she was speaking them, but she smiled through them anyway. "You're rough around the edges."

"Whatever."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Thank you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look over at her. But he didn't say anything before focusing his attention back in front of him. The rest of the walk to the cafeteria was in silence. By the time they found a table, she was antsy for conversation. Normally she was talking with Tsu, Deku, and Iida. She groaned as she sat down.

"Baku—"

"There are going to be rules." His voice cut her off before she could finish his name.

Her brows knitted together as she studied him. He had his head propped up with one hand while he used his other to eat. Ultimately, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else but having this conversation. The only thing that told her otherwise was how his eyes seemed to have a fire glowing behind them.

She nodded, more to herself than to him. It seemed like this was just a giant puzzle for him. Like it didn't matter that Uraraka's reputation was on the line, that the trust her friends had for her could be called into question. To him, this was about how to make this believable and how to make Deku hurt.

"Yeah." She grumbled, shoving some food into her mouth. "I was thinking there needs to be rules, too."

"Good."

The rules Bakugou had in mind were actually very simple. He had obviously been thinking about this during class. That, or he's done something like this before. Uraraka could feel her face scrunch up at the thought. Something about that thought just didn't even sound right in her head. It made much more sense that he had been thinking about it during class. He has shown himself to be a perfectionist in their time at UA, after all. But, anyways, the rules he had told her were going to be easy enough to follow.

First, he would not be buying her gifts or food or anything else. He wasn't an ATM and he didn't know her well enough to 'do that sappy shit anyways'.

Second, they wouldn't go on dates unless absolutely necessary. She could say they went and she just had to keep him updated. Unless they were invited somewhere together with other people, actual dates weren't going to be a thing.

Third, they had to meet up once a week to make sure they were both still on the same page. The place they would meet wasn't set in stone and could be a restaurant or one of their dorms, but meeting was necessary to make sure neither had said anything the other didn't know about. To Uraraka, that kind of made the second rule null and void – they may as well just go out on a fake date and do their 'catching up' then – but she didn't push the issue.

Fourth, no holding hands and no kissing on the lips. They weren't a real couple, so they were under no obligation to do actual couple things. If the situation called for it, she could grab onto his arm or he could wrap his arm around her shoulder, but that was pretty much it. He had grumbled about it 'being overrated' or 'gross'…or both. She wasn't really sure what he said, actually.

"The last rule is that you need to stop calling me Bakugou." He stated matter-of-factly.

Uraraka choked on her water. "I what?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Stop calling me Bakugou. People who date use first names."

"That, uh…." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "That just seems really personal."

"I don't give a flying fuck what you call me, Cheeks." He huffed. "But if you want the twerp to believe this, you have to act the part."

Almost immediately, Uraraka was pressing her fingers together as she processed what he was saying. It was the same thing she had been worrying about earlier. He basically took the words right from her mouth, though she didn't want to immediately jump to calling him by his first name. Even after knowing everyone for this long, she struggled with the idea of calling them something new. She was a creature of habit, and that was the habit she had fallen into.

"Do I have to do it starting today?" Her voice was quiet as she pushed her food around her plate.

Bakugou sighed, rubbing at his temples. Uraraka could swear he was trying to not scream at her. "If you told them we started dating over the break, that's at least a month this has been gong on. There's a lot of shit we have to figure out to make it plausible about why we didn't say anything before now."

"Oh." Uraraka chewed her bottom lip. "Winter break was a stupid time to tell them, I guess."

"Yeah, no shit."

She frowned at how crass he was as she looked up at him. "What about you? Aren't you going to call me by my name?"

He raised a brow at her. "I don't call anyone by their damn name. I'm not starting with you, Cheeks."

"Then why are you expec—"

"Didn't you hear what I called you in the classroom?" He interrupted, taking a drink from his water bottle.

Uraraka's brow furrowed together as she stared at him. What was that supposed to mean? He had been demanding by saying she was eating lunch with him, so she had only half-listened to him. It didn't help that she automatically ignored the nicknames he'd given her over the years. But didn't he call her Round Face like he always had?

Realization dawned on her all too quickly, her face suddenly painted the color of Bakugou's eyes. She frowned as she took a large bite of her food. He had called her Angel Face. That was actually huge for him. Not even Kirishima had a good nickname when it came from Bakugou. The red head was not-so-lovingly called Shitty Hair or Hair-For-Brains most of the time.

And he had called her Angel Face.

"Get out of your fucking head." He growled. "It was for the act. You were basically drooling over the dumbass. Can't hurt his feelings if you go running to him like a fucking dog."

She could feel her entire face fall. "That's true."

"Don't go catching feelings, Cheeks. That's not what this is for."

Before she could stop herself, she was laughing. It wasn't arrogant, and she wasn't making fun of him. It was a laugh that made her stomach hurt and tears prick at her eyes. Once she calmed down enough, she smiled at him. He scowled in return.

"Sorry, Ba—" She paused, clearing her throat but the laughter still clear in her voice. "Sorry. I'm not here to try and win your love or anything. So, no worries."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Whatever. As long as we're on the same page."

Uraraka grinned at him before jumping as if she'd been shocked. "Oh! We need to exchange numbers! I know we have our phones we use when we're at our internships to reach each other, but we need to swap personal phone numbers."

Bakugou's face contorted into disgust, but he reached into his back pocket. Once he had the phone in his hand he slid it across the table at her. She grinned as she took it. There wasn't a lock on the screen, so it opened right up. After tapping a few buttons and making her way to the contact screen, she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"The fuck are you doing." Ah, he was back to non-questions, it seems.

"You'll see when you get your phone back." She stuck her tongue out as she looked back the screen.

If he was going to go along with all of this without much of a fight, she could at least have some fun with it, right? It's not like he was being hostile. But if she couldn't call him by the name she knew him by, she wasn't going to put her name into his phone as just her name. She smiled as she typed the info, then sent herself a text so she could save his number in her phone as well. The phone slid back across the table and tapped his tray. He glanced up at her, annoyance clear as day in his expression. She shrugged innocently and went back to eating her food.

A grumble came from him as he opened his phone and went to his contacts. She could tell when he found the name because his eyes squinted before he frowned.

"Are you fucking with me?" He asked, locking his phone.

She smiled. "Nope. You started it by calling me Angel Face."

"You fucking think I want 'My Angel' as a contact in my phone?" He was still frowning, but his words didn't have any bite to them.

She couldn't help but giggle. "You didn't change it though."

That earned her a hardened glare as he shoved his phone in his pocket. "I'm not fucking with it right now. You better not give me some lame ass name in your phone."

"You want to make your contact name?"

He grunted as he thrust his hand towards her. She rolled her eyes but handed him the phone. It didn't take him anywhere near as long to change the name in her phone as it took her. The phone slid across the table and into her hand. She opened it, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"You still think that's a good name?" She snickered.

"Fuck off. It's a great name." He hissed. "And don't think this makes us friends. You're getting too damn comfortable too damn quick."

She grinned at him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Whatever you say, Explosion King."

Bakugou glared at her for her sarcasm, but she ignored him so that she could focus on her food again. It wasn't long after that they had to head back to class. They were quiet the rest of the time they were together up until they parted ways to go to their respective desks for class. She was able to focus a lot easier the rest of the day.

There were rules.

There was no romance.

They were just two people working together to reach their goals.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, everyone! I'm so SO sorry about the long, unexpected haitus. I'm currently finishing up my last semester of x-ray school and things got super hectic starting back in February and if I wasn't sleeping, my nose was in a book. Still kind of like that, honestly. I'm still not sure how I was able to knock this chapter out. I just...needed to breathe before getting back to studying, I guess. Thank you for ALL of your support, and thank you to everyone who is still following this story. I have about two weeks left of school, so consistent updates won't start back until after May 18th. I just figured that since I finished a chapter, I should post it for you guys. I hope you guys continue to stick around, I have so much planned for this story! I appreciate you guys so much. I hope you enjoy the direction this is going!

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Uraraka had never been so glad to have her alarm startle her from her sleep. She groaned as she flipped over and shoved her face into her pillow. Of course she would have a dream about the devastated looks that Deku had given her the day before. It was only natural, right? To have guilt eat at her for lying to her friends? To lie to the boy she had been in love with for years now?

Her phone buzzing on her bedside table brought her from the thought. She sighed and reached for it, rolling onto her side and opening the notification. A small smile found its way onto her lips as she rolled her eyes.

 **Explosion King**  
 _7:18 am_ Not walking your ass to class btw

 **Uraraka Ochako**  
 _7:19 am_ Yes sir! :P  
 _7:19 am_ We sitting together at lunch again?

 **Explosion King**  
 _7:19 am_ Yes

 **Uraraka Ochako**  
 _7:20 am_ Are we walking together to lunch again, too?

After a few minutes passed with no response, she sighed and stretched before finally getting up to get ready for the day. No point in worrying about what he was planning to do. They had a few hours before it even became an issue, anyways. Plus, Bakugou had proven himself pretty reliable with the situation already. Even if they didn't talk again until lunch time, she was sure he'd pull another stunt like he did yesterday by just slinging his arm over her shoulder.

She glanced towards her phone when it buzzed as she was changing but continued getting ready. It wasn't until it buzzed again after a lengthy pause that she walked over to see what was going on.

 **Explosion King**  
 _7:27 am_ Too early for this many fucking questions  
 _7:29 am_ Yes

Uraraka couldn't stop herself from giggling; he would act like answering a simple question was a hassle. But at least he still answered her. She shook her head to herself as she shoved her phone in her bag and headed towards the common room.

She had actually been really surprised when he responded to her so quickly last night. It was almost midnight when she remembered she never told him the details of how they supposedly started dating over the winter break. After she had hummed and hawed about if he would even still be awake, she finally sent him a simple text saying that she forgot to tell him some things. Less than two minutes later he had responded. It had thrown her off-guard since he was known for going to bed early.

Their conversation lasted longer than she thought it would, too. Honestly, she figured he'd just want the details and then he'd quit texting her…especially when his first response was "why the hell are you remembering it at fucking midnight". But after she had sent back that she was the one who initiated everything, the conversation just kind of…flowed.

Like he said, all she had really told her friends was the she had sat down with him at a café and he told her to "go the fuck away". There was a lot they could do with that, he had said. There were a few scenarios they had bounced around; she had asked if they could say that after the café meeting if they had just happened to run into each other again and hung out, but he said that would never happen. He said the only good excuse would be for training, but she felt like that wouldn't make sense either; Bakugou had always refused to train with anyone except Kirishima, why would he randomly train with her?

" _Why the fuck would I agree to fake date you with that logic"_ was his response to that. She had frowned when she read it; his reasoning for agreeing to fake date her wasn't really that solid, so she wasn't quite sure what his point was. She had actually been so focused on that thought that it took him sending her another text – one that said "don't fall asleep before we get this shit figured out" – before she realized it had been a few minutes since she responded.

They had ultimately agreed on saying that during the café incident that she had asked him if she could run with him in the mornings, as she'd seen him running in the parks while she drank her StarZen coffee before heading into the part time job she had landed for the duration of the break. Bakugou had said her endurance had always "been shit" and they'd actually have to start running together for real, though. That had stung more than she wanted it to. Her endurance had gotten so much better since their first year. He really didn't care to hurt her feelings.

But he was dedicated to making the story work, so there was that.

By the time they had decided on their story, and decided that she was going to start running with him in a few days, two hours had passed. It had been surreal to think that she had spent two hours texting _the_ Bakugou Katsuki. She couldn't help but wonder if he ever talked to Kirishima that long. The idea of Bakugou spending that much time to talk to anyone was just…a really foreign concept to her. He never cared to let his ego do the talking for him in person, but she had learned over the years that he was actually really reserved.

When the elevator opened on the floor to the common room, everything seemed to slow down as she looked into the common room. She reminded herself to breathe as her chest tightened. Deku was leaned against one of the sofas with his backpack slung over his shoulder, a hand covering his mouth while he frowned at the floor and muttered to himself. Suddenly her dream from last night rushed back to her. The image of Deku's lips pressed hard together, almost disappearing under the pressure. His eyes darting back and forth between her and Bakugou, his brows furrowed. He had looked so miserable.

She wasn't ready to face him. She had made a beeline from class yesterday straight to her room, specifically so she would not have to face him. They normally waited until they got to class before they even talked, and he was normally already there in his seat. What is he still doing here when class starts soon? She shook her head at the thought.

She knew exactly why.

She took a deep breath before walking up to him, grinning widely. "Good morning, Deku!"

Deku slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, and she could see the realization in his eyes as he processed who was standing in front of him. His cheeks turned a light shade of red as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Good morning, Uraraka." He shifted, taking his weight off of the sofa and standing up straight. "Want to walk to class together today?"

Uraraka felt her mouth go dry, as if cotton balls had been stuffed in there for safe keeping. Nausea bubbled at the back of her throat. He was definitely going to ask her about Bakugou; she could feel it.

But this is why they talked last night. So they could be prepared for situations like this.

She fought to keep her smile as she nodded. "Of course!"

It was silent between them as they walked. The whole time Uraraka could feel her heart beating all the way down into her finger tips, her breathing seemed to echo off the walls around them. She clasped her hands behind her back, wringing her fingers together in an attempt to calm herself down. Nervousness wasn't a new feeling to her, but she hadn't felt like this since their first year at UA. It probably hadn't helped that she had been so focused on her conversation with Bakugou when she saw Deku; it made seeing him standing there almost embarrassing.

She could see the classroom door when she caught sight of Deku rubbing the back of his neck out of the corner of her eye.

"So, uh…" He paused then nodded to himself. "So, you and Kaachan?"

Uraraka muttered a quiet "mhm" as she focused on her feet, her cheeks burning. It was silent for a moment before Deku cleared his throat. Her chest ached at the sound of him fumbling for words. The fact this bothered him so much made her heart unsure if it needed to beat faster or skip a few beats. This is not how she wanted to start her morning. She wasn't ready for this conversation at all.

"How long have you, uh…how long has that been a thing?"

"It started over the winter break."

The footsteps beside her stopped, causing her stop as well and look over at him. His lips were pressed into that same hard line from yesterday as he switched between looking at his feet and the classroom door. She chewed her lip slightly before mustering a smile at him.

"He said it would cause too much of a fuss if we said anything, so we agreed to not bother anyone with it." The feeling of cotton sitting in her mouth was back and as the lie rolled off her tongue.

Deku nodded but remained still. Right as the thought that she might need to ask if he was okay, he looked up at her and closed the distance between them. Her heart pounded against her chest as she backed up into the wall, waving her hands nervously. As her back hit the wall, she pushed her hands outward to keep his chest from touching hers. His brows were furrowed as he looked back and forth between her eyes.

"D-Deku!" She squeaked, covering her burning cheeks with her hands and closing her eyes.

When he didn't say anything, she slowly reopened her eyes only to come face-to-face with his own bright green orbs.

"Uraraka, are you sure about this?" His voice was low, eyes still darting between hers for any sign of hesitation.

She nodded as she kept his gaze, unsure if she could trust her voice.

"I've known Kaachan my whole life." He murmured. "I don't know how he treats someone he's in a relationship with, but I know all about his temper." He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he finally looked away from Uraraka and took a step backwards. "I just…you two don't really mix."

Uraraka frowned. While Bakugou wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, he wasn't hard to be around either. Yeah, she had been worried about him focusing his anger on her during their first year…but once she had figured out that his mom was equally as loud and foul-mouthed during their second year, it had suddenly made sense to her that it was just how he shows any sort of feelings about things. Knowing that he didn't mean anything by it helped her handle their interactions a lot better. She knew to just take it with a grain of salt. And Deku should know all of this – like he said, he had known Bakugou his entire life.

"We're really not that different, Deku." She mumbled, gripping the strap of her bag while looking to the ground. "We may express ourselves differently, but we are more similar than you seem to think."

Uraraka bit her lip, praying that he didn't ask how. She didn't really know of any similarities offhand other than the fact they were both competitive and stubborn. Deku nodded, but as he went to open his mouth to speak again someone cleared their throat nearby, startling both of them.

Her heart sank when her eyes met red ones accompanied by a raised brow and crossed arms. "Cheeks, c'mere."

She nodded at him before turning back to look at Deku. "I'll talk to you later, Deku."

The sound of her feet hitting the floor shouldn't have been as loud as it was. It echoed everywhere around her as she left one of her best friends – the person she had so many feelings for – to walk towards someone she couldn't even muster an ounce of romantic feelings for but was pretending to date. The tension was almost too much to bear.

Bakugou's arm was warm as it wrapped around her shoulders and he led her into the classroom. He walked her to her seat, letting her sit her stuff down before he glared at her. She could feel her brows furrowing as she sat down, staring back at him.

"I don't understa—"

He cut her off by leaning down closer to her face, one hand on her desk and the other on the back of her chair. His breath tickled her chin as they both stared at each other; his eyes full of frustration while she was sure her own were somewhere between confusion and defiance. Finally, Bakugou moved. He leaned closer, his cheek barely brushing hers and his breath warming the skin of her ear.

"What did I fucking tell you about drooling over him like a damn dog." The statement was just barely a whisper, which was a feat for someone who sounded so angry.

Uraraka chewed on her lip before taking in a breath to calm herself down before she raised her voice at him. "I didn't."

Bakugou leaned back, his hands still on her desk and chair, and he raised a brow at her.

"I didn't." She reiterated boldly, before lowering her voice. "He cornered me."

"Tch."

She frowned at him as she studied his eyes. "We can talk about it at lunch."

With that, he stood and walked back to his desk without another word. Kaminari all but shouted, asking if there was "trouble in paradise" already between her and Bakugou as he passed him. A small explosion next to his face forced him to scoot back in his seat, but that didn't deter him from his teasing.

A sigh left Uraraka's mouth as she laid her head down on her desk. She had really thought this was going to be easier after all the talking she had done with Bakugou last night. Why did Deku even care so much? He never seemed to care about what she did before now. Was it just because it was Bakugou? Or was it because she had never showed interest in anyone else before? Maybe he thought she would just puppy-dog after him forever? Did he even realize that she wanted to be with him? Why was Bakugou so angry about it? It's not really like it affected him, right?

She twisted her thumbs around each other as the questions ran through her mind. Honestly, she was probably less distracted yesterday during class, which really says a lot. Not a single note was written in her notebook when it was time for lunch, though it was full of random shapes and scribbles. She excused herself from Iida and walked over to Bakugou, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him from the room. He grunted at the sudden contact but followed her obediently. It wasn't until they sat down with their trays that Uraraka looked him in the face, leaning across the table towards him.

"You can't talk to me like that."

Bakugou scoffed. "Don't act like a dumbass then."

"Me? I'm not the one who threw a fit first thing in the morning." She snapped.

"You said you wanted my help." His voice was low, almost like a growl.

She inhaled deeply as she studied him. His eyes were sparkling in a way that screamed 'danger', but she was just as frustrated with him as he was her. This wasn't going to work if they couldn't find a way to communicate better.

"I did. I still do." She paused as she leaned back into her seat. "But it's not as black and white as you seem to think it is."

Bakugou snorted, crossing his arms. "You like dumb fuck over there, he barely knows you exist, you want to make him jealous by using me. Seems pretty fucking black and white to me."

Her cheeks burned as she started pressing her fingers together in an attempt to keep herself calm. "He does so know that I exist."

"Whatever."

Bakugou dug into his food, effectively ignoring her as she watched him. She glanced down at her own food as she tapped her thumbs together. This had gone wrong way too quickly for her taste. It had barely been a full day since he agreed to this and they were already at each other's throats. The thought unexpectedly brought a smile to her face and she couldn't help but giggle. Bakugou raised a brow at her but stayed silent as she started eating her lunch. It was quiet between them for a moment before Bakugou finally spoke.

"Spit it out."

She shrugged, still smiling to herself. "Deku told me this morning that we don't mix."

Bakugou put his utensils down as he looked at her almost quizzically, but he mostly looked annoyed. She swallowed the giggle that threatened to come out as she folded her hands together and laid her chin on them.

"And we really don't."

He snorted. "No shit. Not funny though."

"It kind of is. He said it thinking that we're different. Before now, I would've agreed with him." She paused, studying his face for any sort of reaction. "I think we're more alike than he believes."

He cocked a brow at her but didn't respond. She chewed lightly on her bottom lip as she watched him go back to eating his lunch.

Just yesterday, she had been adamant that they had nothing in common other than being competitive. But now she wasn't so sure. She was fairly headstrong in general, and she wasn't scared to stand up against even Bakugou when he was frustrated at her. That was something she hadn't thought of before now. Who knows what else she had overlooked.

"Believe whatever the hell you want. But you can't drool after another guy when you're fake dating me."

Her heart faltered as she blinked at the boy sitting opposite to her. "What do you mean?"

"If we were really dating, do you really think you'd be looking at fucking Deku the way you do?"

"I, uh…I'm not really following you."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, sighing. "Fucking dense as hell."

She could feel her face fall flat as she pursed her lips. "Insults aren't gonna explain it to me."

Red eyes glared at her, she shrugged.

"I really wasn't doing anything with him this morning, though." She muttered. "He cornered me to ask about me and you."

"Tch."

"He asked if I was sure about dating you."

"And you fucking told him yes." It was equally annoying and fascinating how he made questions into statements.

"In a way, yeah." She shrugged, not sure what else to say. "Anyways, when am I going to start running with you again?"

"Tomorrow morning."

She groaned. "That's really soon. Can't it be next week?"

"No."

She frowned at him before sighing in defeat. "You're gonna be the death of me."

He ignored her as he started piling up his utensils. She followed suit, following behind him as they disposed of their trays and headed back towards the classroom.

What had she gotten herself into? And how many more times was she going to have to ask herself what she got herself into by spouting off Bakugou's name the other night? This was only day two of the whole ordeal.

At least it couldn't get any worse.


End file.
